Tastes Like Chicken Tax
The 1960s were a time of change in the American auto market, as foreign competition began to make an impact on the once-dominant Big Three. One result of this competition became known as the Chicken Tax, a 25 percent tariff on imported trucks. It was implemented partially in response to European claims that American poultry producers were selling imported chicken too cheaply.
Meanwhile, the Japanese auto industry was booming. Compact pickup trucks from Japanese automakers became incredibly popular, despite the tax. American manufacturers worked with Japanese partners to bring small trucks to market, including Chevrolet with their Isuzu-built LUV truck. But that tax made it hard to compete, so Detroit set about developing its own domestically built trucks.
The Chevrolet S-10 and GMC S-15 debuted for the 1982 model year, proving immediately popular as compact companions of the full-sized lineup. These smaller trucks were inexpensive and reasonably economical, proving that a truck didn’t need to be the size of an aircraft carrier to get work done.
Automakers are rediscovering the importance of compact trucks today, as the crossover-based Ford Maverick is selling incredibly well, often for over sticker price. The utility of an open bed is hard to beat.
Less Is More
We wonder about the person who chose this 1986 Chevrolet S-10 all those years ago. The four-speed manual transmission and basic four-cylinder engine (with a whopping 92 horsepower!) can be forgiven, as people were accustomed to driving a manual back then and our roadways were still plagued with a 55 mph national speed limit.
But a look at the dashboard reveals even more—and by more, we mean less. There are controls for a heater, but no air conditioning. The radio only brings in AM frequencies—no FM, no cassette player, and certainly no CD player would have been fitted.
The vinyl bench seat looks positively opulent in comparison to the bare-bones nature of this truck. The only real options that would have been selected from the factory here are four-wheel drive and the high-altitude emissions package, two important features for the original delivery point in mountainous West Virginia.
But another glance at the dash shows an odometer reading of just over 22,000 miles. It’s easy to imagine this being on the used side of a Chevy lot in the late 1980s. A budget-minded consumer would probably have picked this up and quickly swapped in an aftermarket stereo, so this Chevrolet S-10 likely stayed with the original frugal owner for many years and very few miles.
Plain Boneless or Nashville Hot?
We’ve come to expect a lot from the vehicles we drive. Nearly every new car or truck has a massive suite of safety, technology, and luxury features that would shame even the most posh luxury car of a few decades ago. Of course, that means we pay for it—the average new car sold for just over $48,000 last year. Even that entry-level compact Ford Maverick starts around $21,000.
For less than half the price of the average new car, this Chevrolet S-10 has four-wheel drive, tons of charm, and little else. If we were to buy a similar truck, we might leave it as is. Is that what you would do? Or would you wander through the thousands of S-10 aftermarket parts and accessories offered on eBay—and let your imagination soar?
Shop now for Chevrolet S-10 parts
